It’s been a tough start to the 2019-20 regular season for James Harden personally, but at least the superstar Houston Rockets guard still has his sense of humor.
Through two games, Harden is shooting just 23.8% from the field and 11.5% on three-pointers, and he’s also struggled with a new emphasis by NBA officials on illegal contact from offensive players.
Thus, at halftime of Saturday’s home win by the Rockets over New Orleans, the NBA’s reigning scoring champion and 2018 Most Valuable Player (MVP) — known best for his legendary beard — slammed the basketball off the Toyota Center court in frustration.
As with most things for Harden early this season, the sequence took a wrong turn when the ball immediately bounced back up and hit him in the face. The sequence quickly went viral, both for the hilarity of Harden’s unintended and completely self-inflicted action, as well as the stunned response from Pelicans guard Josh Hart.
When asked postgame whether it hurt, Harden took it all in stride. “No, I got my beard, so it just protected it,” he said with a laugh.
By Sunday morning, Harden was ready to laugh at himself by posting the exchange to his Twitter account.
It certainly helps his attitude that the Rockets won the game. Despite Harden’s oddly inefficient night, fellow guard and new co-star Russell Westbrook made up for Harden’s struggles by posting a stat line of 28 points (52.9% shooting), 13 assists, and 10 rebounds.
“First one in the books,” Harden wrote on his Instagram, referring to Houston’s initial win of the new season. “It was ugly, but we’ll take it.”
A year ago, the Rockets might not have been able to survive that type of off night. This year, in large part due to Westbrook, they won one of Harden’s two subpar games — and the other was a close loss to Milwaukee, which led the NBA last season with a 60-22 record.
At least some of the pressure is off Harden at the moment, and both he and the Rockets (1-1) might benefit in the long run from it. Even it means having a laugh at his own expense.
